"Exhibit design (or exhibition design) is the process of developing an exhibit—from a concept through to a physical, three-dimensional exhibition."
The process of planning, designing, and executing museum exhibitions that will engage and educate visitors, and are aligned with the museum's mission and goals.
Exhibition Design: The planning and creation of a physical space for displaying artworks or artifacts, including horizontal and vertical layout, use of color and lighting, signage, and interactive technology.
Object Labeling and Interpretation: How to write descriptions of objects, and creating engaging and informative interpretive labels for the public, including text and graphic design.
Audience Segmentation: Understanding the target audience to create exhibitions and programming that appeal to a specific audience, including demographics, interests, and education level.
Budgeting and Project Management: Planning, scheduling, and managing the overall exhibit creation process, including cost estimation, project timelines, and coordination with staff and contractors.
Curatorial Concepts and Research: Developing themes, narrative concepts, and research strategies for exhibitions, including object selection, exhibition themes, and research methodologies.
Education and Outreach: Developing educational programs and outreach strategies to engage visitors with the exhibition content, including docent tours, school programs, and community engagement.
Collections Management: The preservation and care of artifacts and artworks, including conservation, security, storage, and collection policies.
Exhibition Marketing: Planning and executing marketing strategies to promote exhibitions and increase visitor attendance, including digital marketing, press outreach, and advertising.
Cultural Diversity and Inclusion: Understanding cultural sensitivity and inclusivity when researching and presenting objects, topics, and narratives in exhibitions, including ethical considerations and social justice.
Exhibition Evaluation: Assessing and analyzing the effectiveness of exhibitions and programming against intended goals and objectives, including visitor feedback, survey analysis, and audience research.
Permanent Exhibitions: These are exhibitions that are likely to be on display for an extended period, often years or even decades. They usually serve as the foundation of a museum's mission and present a comprehensive presentation of the institution's collections or the story it hopes to convey.
Temporary Exhibitions: Temporary exhibitions are more ephemeral than permanent exhibitions and are produced and displayed for a shorter time, often months or weeks. They allow museums to show current or trending issues, and various themes to engage the public through innovative and interactive displays.
Thematic Exhibitions: Thematic exhibitions are themed exhibits that are designed around a particular concept, idea or story. These can be temporary or permanent and provide visitors with a unique perspective on a topic in a fun and interactive way.
Traveling Exhibitions: Traveling exhibitions can be either temporary or permanent works of art, artifacts, or exhibitions designed to travel one location to another. It can be borrowed from another institution, returned, or loaned out to other museums, galleries or institutions.
Virtual Exhibitions: Virtual exhibitions are entirely digital or part-digital exhibits that enable visitors to experience an exhibition online. It allows flexibility and accessibility to people who can't attend the physical exhibition.
Interactive Exhibitions: Interactive exhibits are hands-on exhibitions that enable the visitors to play an active role, watch or experience various activities both physical and multimedia. It caters to visitors of all ages and contributes to an immersive experience.
Educational Exhibitions: Educational exhibitions include informative exhibits that aim at giving the visitors a better understanding of a particular theme, providing background knowledge, and fostering learning experiences.
Retrospective Exhibitions: Retro Exhibitions are designed around a single artist, subject or individual, often displayed in chronological order, and follow the progression of time. It usually follows a particular era or highlight a significant phase of an artist or historical event.
Collaborative Exhibitions: Collaborative exhibitions are the result of a partnership between different institutions to exchange resources, ideas, and knowledge sharing to enhance and create impactful exhibitions.
Community-Based Exhibitions: Community-Based Exhibitions are meant to serve and showcase local communities by celebrating their culture, history and achievements. It involves community participation in design, implementation and promotion of exhibitions.
"It is a continually evolving field, drawing on innovative, creative, and practical solutions."
"Directors, curators, exhibition designers, and technicians are some of the people who collaborate to design exhibits."
"These positions have great importance because how they design will affect how people learn."
"Learning is a byproduct of attention, so first the designers must capture the visitors' attention."
"A good exhibition designer will consider the whole environment in which a story is being interpreted rather than just concentrating on individual exhibits."
"Some other things designers must consider are the space allotted for the display, precautions to protect what is being displayed, and what they are displaying."
"For example, a painting, a mask, and a diamond will not be displayed the same way."
"Taking into account artifacts' culture and history is also important because every time the artifact is displayed in a new context it reinterprets them."
"The process of developing an exhibit...to developing communicative environments that 'tell a story' in a three-dimensional space."
"Success of an exhibit design can be evaluated by capturing the visitors' attention and facilitating their learning."
"The challenge of developing communicative environments that 'tell a story' in a three-dimensional space."
"Innovative, creative, and practical solutions are skills that exhibit designers need."
"A good exhibition designer will consider the whole environment in which a story is being interpreted."
"Precautions to protect what is being displayed" must be considered by designers.
"A painting, a mask, and a diamond will not be displayed the same way."
"Taking into account artifacts' culture and history is also important because every time the artifact is displayed in a new context it reinterprets them."
"Directors, curators, exhibition designers, and technicians" collaborate in exhibit design.
"Learning is a byproduct of attention, so first the designers must capture the visitors' attention."
"Directors, curators, exhibition designers, and technicians have great importance because how they design will affect how people learn."